The police rescued a man, who was beaten up by locals for allegedly trying to steal a goat, at Sainthia in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Friday.
According to the police, the locals claimed two youths arrived on a bike and tried to steal a goat.
Locals claimed further that while they caught hold of one of the suspects, the other managed to get away, police said, adding that several persons gathered at the spot and started raining blows on the suspected thief with sticks and pipes.
On receiving information of the assault, a police team reached the spot and tried to rescue the suspected thief from the clutches of the mob.
"The locals even stopped a police vehicle in which the man was being taken away, for about 20 minutes. Reinforcements had to be rushed in to take the suspected thief away," a police officer said.
Further investigation was underway, the police informed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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